Ever since I’ve watched the movie Pursuit of Happyness I have wanted to write something about this phrase. Will Smith makes you really FEEL these words in the movie while talking to his son and I wanted to take a moment to explain why this is one of the best quotes you could ever read; and follow.
In the movie, Actor Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a man who was once homeless and faced with the dilemma of taking one of two roads; one being the road of defeat and curling up in a ball and accepting this as his life, while the other road was one that would change his life forever. Chris chose the second path, the one that he WANTED and didn’t let anyone stand in his way of getting. Bootstrapping your business might be mainly about the cost of production and the bottom lines, but for the bootstrapper, I know that this topic is near and dear to our hearts. I know I’m not the only one who has heard the phrases “thats crazy” or “thats never going to work”. So, for all of the bootstrappers out there in this same position, this one is for you.
These are some of the things I’m going to cover in this article. I wanted to give a brief overview because I know once I get writing on this topic, its going to be a long one. I hope you enjoy it!
* Why I’m writing about this NOW instead of when the movie was released
* Why the child’s mind is one we should all want to have
* How we can live out our dreams and feel good about it
* Video snippet of the scene this quote was taken from
Why I’m writing this NOW instead of when the movie was released
Recently, I’ve been faced with some roadblocks from friends and family that I needed to decide if I was going to fight or run. I don’t know of a better way to put it so please don’t think of that as me punching someone, I just mean that I had to decide if I was going to allow them to crush my dream and follow the life THEY wanted or if I was going to do what I knew was best. I knew in my heart that I was struggling with a lot of things and actually have been stumbling around without real direction for the past few days. I’ve taken longer breaks then I usually do, I’ve went on walks to try and calm my anxieties, I’ve even taken days off to try and reconnect with things but nothing has worked; until now.
Why the child’s mind is one we should all want to have
When I thought about this topic and really examined the way children are while watching some television shows and the children around me, I realized that they have no real cares in the world about what other people are thinking. They just want to be happy and do whatever it is that makes them happy.
Think about when you were a child and the teacher in your class asked everyone “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I bet that no one in the class raised their hand and said “Unhappy, alone and depressed”. Did they? No; everyone in class wanted to be firefighters, or a princess, or a police officer, doctor, lawyer, and so on. At that point in the child’s life, they could do anything they wanted and that’s the mind set I think we should all strive to be at.
So, if you’re ever around children, try sitting back and just watching them react to their environment. See what makes them happy and what makes them scream and yell. Watch how they always seem to push back to the feelings of happiness. Try even asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. You’ll see a sparkle and excitement in their eyes which is truly inspiring.
How we can live our dreams and feel good about it
Regardless of how hurt someone might be when you remove them from your life, or how angry they might get when you tell them that they are part of the reason you are not productive or living your dreams, you need to cut the dead weight. When a ship is too heavy and is starting to sink, what do they do? They remove as much of the dead weight as possible to stay floating and finish out what they started and that’s exactly what you need to do.
Remember that no matter how upset the people in your life might be because you are not happy with how they are, think about how unhappy YOU are with them there. At the end of the day, we all leave this world alone so unless you leave happy, what have you really lived for?
Video snippet of the scene this quote was taken from
Here is a video snippet of the scene from Pursuit of Happyness where Will Smith is talking to his son. Powerful stuff.
You’re not defeated until you walk away. And then, only if you are not walking away in pursuit of a fresher, larger dream.
My blog isn’t all that popular. But last week, after wrestling with some ideas for a couple of months, I came up with a new product and got it into prototype condition. I have a niche market of somewhat over 7,000,000 potential customers. I only need to sell to less than 1 in 100.
Tomorrow, and for the whole month of August, the prototype will be put to use. In the meantime I have begun to create its website and hunt down the vendors I will need.
This product is going to solve a nagging problem for a lot of people. It has built-in recurring sales (refills) and a clear upgrade path from the entry model to more expensive presentation / ego models.
And all I need from it is a buck over cost for the starter set and the refills.
I don’t really have any particular dream except to serve my God and to be useful to others. This product, the first of several related products, will help me do that. I’m no martyr … I’m selling this at a profit or not at all. But I -am- the kind of guy you’d like to have in your corner; working out the details for you as a way of making my own living.
Bill
Just keep doing good content.